Transformational instructor-leadership and academic performance: a moderated mediation model of student engagement and structural distance

Abstract

Researchers are becoming increasingly interested in the use of transformational leadership theory in higher education teaching (often referred to as transformational instructorleadership). Much of this body of research investigates a direct association between transformational instructor-leadership and student outcomes. In the present study, we take a step further by investigating (a) student engagement as a mechanism in the relationship between transformational instructor-leadership and students' academic performance and (b) structural distance as a moderator of the relationship between transformational instructor-leadership and student engagement. Using a sample of 183 students across the UK, the findings supported student engagement as a full mediator, but did not support structural distance as a moderator. This study contributes to theory by (a) showing a key underlying process through which transformational instructor-leadership is related to students' academic performance and (b) empirically examining all three dimensions of student engagement. Limitations, suggestions for future research, and practical implications are discussed.

Organizational Climate and Employee Performance: Examining the Mediating Role of Organizational Commitment and Moderating Role of Perceived Organizational Support

“…Despite this, it is noteworthy to have high support from the organization to help employees in the attainment of performance. Theoretically, it is considered that the central behavior of employees is characterized by the quality relationship between superiors and subordinates (Balwant, Birdi, Stephan, & Topakas, 2019). However, the rate at which an organization values employee's contributions and how concern the organization is to employees' well-being represents perceived organizational support (Eisenberger, Huntington, Hutchison, & Sowa, 1986), hence, improving employee performance.…”

Adaptación y validación de la escala de liderazgo MLQ-5X al contexto educativo español

“…Although the MLQ-5X has been used to determine the influence of teachers' self-perceived leadership styles on different consequences of student behavior and learning (Allen et al, 2015;McCarley et al, 2016), research has focused more on the transformational dimension of the theory. Several studies have used exclusively the transformational dimension of the scale as a measuring instrument (Balwant, et al, 2019;Noland & Richard, 2014). Moreover, the Transformational Teaching Questionnaire (TTQ; , which differentiates four factors of transformational leadership (idealized influence, inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation, and individualized consideration) has been developed and validated.…”

“…Several studies have shown that the positive relationship between the teachers' leadership and the students' responses produces an increase in selfdetermined motivation (Beauchamp et al, 2011;Öqvist & Malmström, 2018), the satisfaction of students' basic psychological needs, satisfaction with the teacher, better academic performance, and more fun and enjoyment of the subject (Balwant, 2016;Bean et al, 2017;Morton et al, 2010). Specifically, under the prism of transformational leadership, it has been observed that teaching leads to students' cognitive, emotional, and behavioral improvements (Balwant et al, 2019;Harrison, 2011;Kopperud et al, 2014).…”

The dimensionality and measurement of destructive instructor-leadership

“…We used the same sample examined in Balwant, Birdi, Stephan, and Topakas (2018) , but different measures and analyses were used in this study 3 . After accounting for missing data 4 , outliers, and invalid responses, the sample size consisted of 174 undergraduate students studying at universities located in England (n = 161, 92.5%), Scotland (n = 7, 4.0%), Wales (n = 5, 2.9%),…”